Nyad Remains Defiant: ‘I Swam Unaided’

Diana Nyad said on Tuesday she received no assistance during a swim from Cuba to Florida earlier this month.

A much-anticipated telephone showdown between a marathon swimmer and her marathon-swimming skeptics evolved into an hours-long marathon that failed to resolve every question about the authenticity of Diana Nyad’s record-setting 110-mile Cuba-to-Florida swim last week.

But through more than three hours of often-contentious questioning, the 64-year-old Nyad remained defiant, saying she received no assistance staying afloat or moving forward during the 53-hour swim. “I swam across the open ocean unaided,” said Nyad, who on Sept. 2 became the first human to swim without a shark cage or fins from Cuba to Florida.

Widespread coverage of her triumph – which came on her fifth attempt in 35 years – had prompted questions inside the small but fast-growing sport of open-water swimming about whether Nyad had actually swum the entire distance. In particular, some GPS data showed that Nyad’s pace had doubled during a seven-hour stretch of the swim, suggesting to some skeptics that she may have clung to, ridden in or been dragged by a boat – any of which would have represented violations of rules rooted largely in English Channel swims.

Reuters

Widespread coverage of Nyad’s triumph prompted questions inside the small but fast-growing sport of open-water swimming about whether she had actually swum the entire distance.

But Nyad was vehement that throughout the swim she never touched a boat. And during the teleconference, wherein 14 open-water experts questioned Nyad and several members of her 44-person team, the navigator of her swim, John Bartlett, attributed that quickened stretch of progress to favorable currents. Answering detailed questions with detailed answers from his records and logs, Bartlett seemed to resolve most questions about her speed, and promised to make those documents publicly available.

When Bartlett and Nyad were pressed about why they hadn’t already placed those documents online, Nyad said that neither she nor Bartlett, a 66-year-old veteran seaman, knew how to “upload.” But Nyad promised to make public all documents associated with her swim.

One undisputed violation of English Channel rules involved Nyad’s use of a body suit, booties and gloves. Channel rules allow only a swimsuit, cap and goggles. But Channel swims don’t expose swimmers to box jellyfish, whose venom can be fatal. Increasingly common in the Florida Straits, the box jellyfish has ended more than one attempt to negotiate the Cuba-to-Florida swim, including a previous Nyad attempt. During the debate, Nyad argued that life-and-death circumstances justified the use of her suit, which she said was neither buoyant nor heat-trapping.

Nyad also argued that open-water tradition calls for the first swimmer to cross a particular body of water to dictate the rules for that swim. As the first person to make what she called an unassisted swim across the Florida Straits, Nyad argued that she determined that jellyfish-protection “is what this swim requires. I don’t mean to fly in the face of your rules. That’s the way we did it.”

In what some open-water experts would consider an unforgivable violation, Nyad also acknowledged receiving some help donning her anti-jellyfish suit, because it required a duct-tape seal. “I couldn’t do the duct tape by myself,” she said.

At least one expert on the call suggested that Nyad’s use of the suit might render her attempt an assisted rather than unassisted swim, which in some eyes could fail to distinguish her Florida Straits swim from previous ones involving a shark cage and flippers.

If the debate sounded pedantic to the uninitiated, the same could be said about rules determining what constitutes a balk in baseball. As for its length – almost 3.5 hours – might have reflected a powerful desire to talk about a sport that gets little attention and that requires its practitioners to spend long and lonely hours in open water.

“They have had their heads in the water so long they never get to talk,” said Lynne Cox, an author and open-water legend who twice held the men’s and women’s English Channel records, and who became the first person to swim the Bering Strait and Strait of Magellan, among other feats. “This is the most they’ve spoken in years.”

Listening to rather than participating in the teleconference, Cox said that the Nyad debate represented a rare opportunity for her fellow open-water enthusiasts: “Now they get to talk about something important.”

In a surprising concession, Nyad admitted that during long training sessions in swim pools, she doesn’t exit the water to urinate.

Comments (5 of 20)

It was a feel-good story when I heard it. NPR was bursting with pride that "their girl" had finally gotten it done.But yeah...there's enough here to at least be curious as to the gaps.

12:46 pm September 12, 2013

Daniel Slosberg wrote:

Far from having nothing to lose, Nyad had a lot at stake in this swim:

1. Her movie, "The Other Shore," arrives in two weeks.
2. Her upcoming 48-hour swim in New York will attract much more interest if Ms. Nyad arrives victorious rather than defeated once again.
3. Her site lists some major sponsors which might be much more inclined to stick around (and even invite their friends) to celebrate a barrier-shattering hero.
4. Her reputation. I'm sure that she doesn't want us to remember her as that loon who kept trying (and failing) to swim from Cuba to Florida.

Here's what bothers me the most right now. As a former marathon swimmer, I know that well-kept logs can be posted within minutes of the end of a swim. Hours at most. It's well over a week and no logs. Ms. Nyad claims that she nor her captain know how to "upload" (see article). I'm sure, though, that they have countless friends and supporters who do. So where are the logs and why haven't we seen them yet?

9:28 pm September 11, 2013

the nurse wrote:

I admire Nyad for her accomplishments! She is a Winner! She is a Positive example for all! I believe she swam her course in honesty. You Go Girl! I wish I could even attempt half of her swim. There will always be skeptics and boo hooers but, they miss so much in the Joy of pursuit,accomplishment and happiness. But, I bet they still love their steroidal ball players who receive millions as they deceive millions. You definitely can maintain your strength in many areas as you get older, provided you exercise religiously, eat right and do not abuse your body. The human body is capable of miraculous feats. Most people do not age well in this country or as a matter of fact across the globe, they don't take care of themselves or do not have the means to. This is saddening. Good genes do help tremendously. Just google Jack Lalanne he wrote the book on getting maintaining our strength and possibly getting stronger as we age. The general public is ill informed or just ignorant of how to make the most of your physical body. At 50, I competed in swimming portions of triathlons and my timing was notable. Finishing second and third. I was happy. My children and grand kids were happy. I've swam all my life and taught all my children, their friends and my grandkids to swim. It is really the best exercise you can do. Zero gravity, and it works every organ in your body. It improves your circulatory system, kidneys, muscles and bones, great for arthritis and your brain produces hormones to make you really happy! If I make a pint anywhere is my ramblings, I say to every human body :"Jump in The Pool!" The sooner, the better. JHB RN

3:12 pm September 11, 2013

Andy Eppink wrote:

What an example people like Nyad are for fat out of shape guys like me. Got to keep the wt going down and get back in the gym. God Bless her.

10:13 am September 11, 2013

Jeffrey Allen Miller NY wrote:

In my view, when someone has nothing to lose, personally, they don't lie. Nyad intended to try this jaunt just once more and if she failed, so be it. Nothing would have changed in her life at this point, either way. So, I believe her. But I never believed Lance Armstrong, because he had way too much to lose not to lie -- for years.

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